A handwritten sign on the gas pumps at a BP station on Fourth Street in St. Petersburg on Saturday read: "We are out." Down the street, paper bags covered the pumps at an Exxon.
But at a Texaco near 62nd Avenue, cars were lined up four, five and six deep waiting to fill up.
"It's been nonstop all day," said Robert McCarthy from behind the cash register. "We've gone through some gallons, let me tell you."
Drivers preparing for Hurricane Ivan depleted fuel supplies at many stations in the Tampa Bay area, making it one of the hardest places in Florida to fill up a gas tank, according to state officials.
Some stations ran out of fuel. Others had only certain grades. The lack of fuel prompted state officials to try to reassure anxious motorists for the second day in a row.
"We don't have a long-term shortage," said Colleen Castille, Florida Secretary of Environmental Protection. "It's a short-term problem."
To help replenish the supply, ships carrying fuel are unloading at ports around the state throughout the weekend. Fuel companies also have joined to try to divert fuel to areas in need. Trucks will continue delivering to the Tampa Bay area until all station orders are filled.
"We continually have ships coming in and trucks that have been in line over the last 36 hours have filled up and are delivering fuel across the state," Castille said.
Castille, who has been the governor's point person on fuel supply during the hurricanes, said the state does not expect to limit gas sales to anyone, and reiterated that Florida is not short of fuel.
Tell that to the customers - some of whom went to seven stations before they found gas.
"Everybody's freaking out," said Dan Ponton as he waited in a line in St. Petersburg. He said he decided to fill up because he worried Ivan may bring power outages, preventing pumps from working.
In Tampa, many of the gas stations on Kennedy Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway were out of fuel. Those that still had fuel were running low on regular or super.
A nearby Shell station at Cypress Street was one of the few stations with pumps open, thanks to three deliveries in the previous 24 hours. But by noon Saturday it, too, was running low.
Owner Jim Chehab ran out of fuel at his BP station at Kennedy Boulevard and Lois Avenue.
"After I ran out of gas, I was standing out in the parking lot directing them to other stations," he said. "Before the day is over, I'm sure that they will all be out."
Chehab said he didn't know when he would receive his next shipment, but he's hoping it comes soon. "In these situations, they should give gas to almost everybody," he said. "At least keep the availability there."
On average, Florida drivers burn 26.5-million gallons of fuel a day.
Over the next nine days 22 ships are scheduled to port in Florida with 160-million gallons, unless Ivan prevents it, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection. About half that fuel will come from ships in the Atlantic and half from those in the Gulf of Mexico.
Out-of-state trucks have boosted the state's distribution system to 1,153 trucks delivering a supply of 169-million gallons of fuel statewide, according to the department.
"We had gas all day Friday, and we're supposed to get a delivery tomorrow," Moe Siddiqui, manager of a Chevron on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street in St.Petersburg, said Saturday. "But right now, all we have is supreme grade."
The station sold more than 15,000 gallons Friday, an all-time high, Siddiqui said. He stayed open until 2 a.m. to accommodate the long lines.
"People were fighting," Siddiqui said. "It was crazy. There was all this arguing and yelling going on. We had to keep telling people to calm down."
On Saturday, only two gas stations still had open pumps - and supplies there were limited - on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street from 62nd Avenue N to First Avenue N.
Employee Kenneth Riffel was tying the last of the plastic bags over the pumps at the Keeman station on 10th Avenue N about 2:45 p.m.
"We just ran out," he said. "It's been a total madhouse around here."
Times staff writers Jay Cridlin, Carrie Johnson, Curtis Krueger and Lucy Morgan contributed to this report.
FILLING UP
Call stations ahead of time to make sure they have gas.
Buy only what you need, unless you need gas to evacuate.
Know what kind of gas your car can take. Some stations have run out of certain grades.
If you have more than one vehicle, fill up the one that gets the best mileage.
